The Mystery of the Missing Fins/West Seattle/Sat June 30/10 pm: Officer Sylvester reports: "I interviewed witness one and witness two, who are married. Witness one (the husband) was the victim's diving partner. Witness one and the victim came to dive the rock area just south of the park on 63rd Ave SW and Beach Drive. The victim wanted to film some underwater video. The victim had borrowed the tank regulator and wet suit (and gloves, boots, hood) from an associate. The tank air was filled with standard air approximately one month ago. The victim performed a predive safety check before wading into the water with fins on his feet.
"While in the water, the victim told witnesses one and two that he felt too buoyant and needed more weight on his body. The victim weighed 165 lbs and had witness one and witness two put 40 lbs of lead on him. The aluminum tank was 101 lbs. Witness one and victim began surface swimming to the rocks south of the park. The victim swam on his back for a brief distance and then rolled onto his stomach, continuing his surface swim. The victim did not have a regulator in his mouth. All of sudden, there was a large set of surface rollers made by a passing freight ship. Witness one lost sight of the victim, but believed he had submerged to dive. After the rollers had ceased, the witness could still not locate the victim. He began a grid search and after approximately 40 minutes of searching exited the water and had his wife call 911.
"We arrived at the scene and interviewed firefighter Gamboa of SFD Ladder 7. Gamboa found the victim approximately 50 feet from shore in approximately six feet depth. The victim was sitting at the bottom, in a semireclined position. There was no regulator in the victim's mouth and he was not wearing fins. Gamboa began dragging the victim to shore. Once ashore, firefighters removed victim's dive gear. The victim's pressure gauge indicated 2500 psi. It took seven complete turns of the valve to turn the air pressure off. The victim was unresponsive and appeared to be dead. Gamboa stated the sea state was calm, with a light breeze, and 30 feet of visibility at depth.
"The victim was declared dead at HMC. There did not appear to be any trauma injuries. There were no obvious signs of foul play. However, both Officer Gonzales and I noted the lack of swim fins. According to witnesses one and two, the victim had fins prior to entry, but the victim was not wearing any fins during the recovery."
What is it that makes diving equipment seem even more alien than space equipment? The wet suit, masks, regulators, the gloves, the tank, the fins—these thick and heavy things make a man into a sea monster. This is what Gamboa pulled out of the sea: a dark and strange creature. But once the firefighters removed the tank and wet suit, there was the human, the man, the recognizable body. 
